The only response possible is to be civil, positive, flexible and emphatic that Canada will defend itself if necessary

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Blinkered partisanship often blinds people to the fact that two things can be true at once.

You can be critical of the Liberal government’s drug and immigration policies and still believe that Donald Trump’s threat to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on America’s closest ally and second-largest trading partner is shameful.

The stakes for Canada couldn’t be higher. Trump could be bluffing, but the currency markets were spooked enough to send the Canadian dollar to a four and a half year low. Economist Trevor Tombe estimated that 25-per-cent across-the-board tariffs would send the country into recession.

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To his credit, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called Trump’s menacing statement “unjustified” and “unfair.” It’s a smart political move: when Trump, as president in 2018, actually followed through with a 25-per-cent tariff on steel on national security grounds, 80 per cent of Canadians opposed his position and backed the Trudeau government’s retaliatory levies. Most Canadians still see this country as the proud nation that fought alongside the Americans in Flanders, the Scheldt, Sicily, Normandy, Korea and Afghanistan —and they don’t like being threatened.

But the only response possible with the arch-protectionist who is poised to re-enter the White House is to be civil, positive, flexible and emphatic that Canada will defend itself if necessary.

At the same time, Ottawa has to acknowledge the U.S. has legitimate concerns on the drugs and migration crises that Trump was elected on — issues four out of five Americans believe are significant problems the current administration is handling badly.

It is clear to everyone that the........

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